


Reception

by petersnotkingyet



Series: Love is Blind (and so is Kenny) [13]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Drunk bitty, Fluff, Happy Ending, Healthy Relationships, M/M, Marriage, Set several years in the future, Wedding Reception, Weddings, alcohol consumption, functional exes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-28
Updated: 2018-03-28
Packaged: 2019-04-13 22:11:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14121912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/petersnotkingyet/pseuds/petersnotkingyet
Summary: “Jack,” Bitty said tearfully, hiccupping a little.  “We can never get married.”“Yeah?” Jack said.  “Why’s that, bud?”“Because nothing is ever going to be this beautiful again,” Bitty said.Kent and Alexei got married.  Jack's feeling reflective, and Bitty's feeling the drinks.





	Reception

“Jack,” Bitty said tearfully, hiccupping a little.  “We can never get married.”

“Yeah?” Jack said.  “Why’s that, bud?”

“Because nothing is ever going to be this beautiful again,” Bitty said.

“I don’t know about that,” Jack said.  “It’ll be alright.  How much have you had to drink?”

It was a beautiful reception.  The decorations were gorgeous but tasteful, and there were flowers everywhere.  Even more striking than the décor was the wedding party.  Kent and Alexei were on cloud nine, and their joy spread throughout the close-knit group of friends and family.  An astronomical number of people had been coming up to them all night—Falconers players and staff, Kent’s college friends and coworkers, Alexei’s relatives—but Alexei and Kent knew everyone by name and were still smiling.

 “It’s already okay,” Eric said, ignoring the question. “Because… This is great.  Look at our friends, Jack.  Look!”

 _Our friends._   A few years prior, Jack would have never guessed Bitty would include Kent with that phrase.  While the first several months of their acquaintanceship hadn’t gone well, Eric and Kent got along.  Kent had even invited him along to taste cake options before the wedding.  That had flustered Bitty, but he was pleased that Kent had thought of him.

“I see them,” Jack said agreeably. 

Tater and Kent were dancing in a crowd of wedding-goers.  Kent had abandoned his suit jacket at some point, but he still looked impeccable.  Tater had frosting on the pocket of his shirt, and he was grinning widely at Kent as they danced.  Kent’s sunglasses were Ray-Bans from Alexei, and Alexei’s cufflinks were little hockey pucks from Kent.

“I’m going to go get you some water and something to eat,” Jack said to Eric.

“But I already ate!” Bitty protested.

“Something other than cake,” Jack said.  “Wait for me here, okay?”

“Yeah, alright, sweetpea,” Bitty said, turning to talk to one of Kent’s coworkers.

Most of the people who were still at the reception were dancing or talking in small groups at the tables, but there were enough people going back for more food that Jack had to shuffle through.  Focused on fixing a plate for Bittle, he didn’t notice Amy until he was right next to her.  She looked at his full plate and raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow as the corners of her mouth twitched upwards.

“Hello, Jack,” Amy said.  She’d taken off her heels, and she was wearing Kent’s blazer over her dress.  Amy was one of Kent’s groomsfolk, and although Jack had noticed her during the wedding, they hadn’t had a chance to speak yet.

“Hi, Amy,” Jack said, smiling politely.  He’d spent his fair share of time with her as a teenager, but now they hadn’t spoken in years.  “How are you?”

“I’m good,” she said, glancing up the venue to where Swoops was laughing while Kent and Tater stumbled over each other.  Alexei was tipsy and Kent was drunk only on joy, but they danced like they were hammered.  Swoops, who actually was, was grinning like the couple was the best thing he’d ever seen.  “Really happy.”

“Yeah, this is great for Kent and Tater,” Jack said.  “Everything was really nice.”

“Eric did a good job helping pick the cake,” Amy said.  “It disappeared fast.”

“Yeah, he was really surprised when Kent asked him after you and your mom couldn’t come down.”

“Well, Jeff was going but he has no tastes, and Alexei would destroy his diet plan, so,” Amy said.

Jack laughed.  “Eric’s had enough to drink, so this is for him,” he said, nodding down at the plate.

“I’ll let you get back to him,” Amy said.  “It was good to see you, Jack.”

Six months after Jack overdosed, he’d gotten a text from her.  He only had her number so she could get in touch with him when he was driving Kent and her home, and it’d never been used much before.  For a split second, he’d wondered if something had happened, and then he read the message.

_Don’t respond to this, because I won’t read it.  If you’re really cutting Kent out, don’t come back.  He’s finally doing better, but you make things worse every time you send him shitty texts.  Quit fucking over my brother._

At the time, Jack had too much of his own stuff going on to pay attention to the phrase ‘he’s finally doing better,’ but it had stuck with him as he got older.  Amy and Kent had always been protective of each other.  She was only two years younger, and they usually got along.  Kent hadn’t exactly liked when she invited herself along with them, but he’d put up with it for the most part.  When she was around, they typically just played hockey and ate pizza, but Jack was realizing that Amy probably knew what was going on.

“Good to see you too,” Jack said.

Amy disappeared toward the dancefloor, and Jack made his way back to Eric.  Bitty grinned when he spotted him and waved.  ( _“That’s my boyfriend.  See, there he is.  That’s who I was talking about.  That’s my boyfriend Jack.”)_ Jack put the plate down in front of Eric, who began to eat reflexively.

“Thanks,” he said.  “Who were you talking to?”

“Kent’s sister Amy,” Jack said.

“That’s nice,” Eric said.  “Do you want to go dance some more?”

“Eat a little and drink some water,” Jack said.  “After that, sure.”

In the end, Bitty dozed off in his chair before they could go dance again.  He perked up briefly to say goodnight to Kent and Tater, who were leaving for their honeymoon in the morning, and then Jack had to coral him back to their motel room.  At brunch with Jack’s parents the next morning, Bitty was puffy-eyed and quiet.

“Lord, I drank too much last night,” he mumbled as he cut into his omelet.

“Hair of the dog,” Bob said with a nod, tilting his own glass.  Alicia rolled her eyes, and Eric looked a little nauseated at the though.

“Well, that was a gorgeous wedding,” Alicia said.  “You two will have a lot to live up to.”

Eric froze in place while Jack choked on his orange juice.  When he recovered, he said, “Mom, geez,” while Bob laughed.  Alicia shrugged.

“What, you haven’t talked about it?” she said.  “Jack, honey, Eric’s an attractive young man.  You need to lock that down.”

Bitty snorted in laughter while Jack’s cheeks burned.  Alicia patted her son’s hand and said, “Tell Kent and Alexei that we’re really happy for them when they get back, alright?”

“I will,” Jack promised.

“We’ve got to get going,” Alicia said.  “We told the neighbors we’d dogsit tonight.”

“Alright,” Jack said, standing up to give her a hug.  “I’ll see you soon.”

“Love you, honey,” Alicia said.  The group exchanged hugs and goodbyes, and Bob and Alicia left the hotel restaurant.

“So marriage, huh?” Bitty said, raising an eyebrow.

“Watch it, bud,” Jack responded with a grin.

“But you, Mr. NHL,” Eric said, “need to lock this down.”

“I think I’ve got you pretty good,” Jack said.

“Is that so?”

“Yeah,” Jack said.  “Pretty good.”

The ring in his dresser at home didn’t hurt.

**Author's Note:**

> I used the term 'groomsfolk' instead of groomsmen because the group didn't consist of only men.


End file.
